Yakitori Tsukiya

Yakitori Tsukiya is a luxury yakitori restaurant, hidden in one of the many backstreets of glitzy Ginza. Enjoy freshly grilled meat that is full of flavor — made with the highest-quality ingredients by a Michelin-star chef, who cooks each piece right in front of you.

Yakitori is one of Japan’s most popular dishes, and has been around since the Edo period. In those days, yakitori was considered a luxury dish, given the scarcity of meat. Traditionally, many different parts of the chicken are used to make yakitori, to ensure that none of the meat goes to waste.

Some types of yakitori, such as chō-chin (chicken ovaries and immature eggs), are hard to come across in other yakitori restaurants. At Yakitori Tsukiya, you can experience a unique culinary tour, trying rare yakitori that even some Japanese locals haven’t had the chance to taste. 

Price range

Yakitori Tsukiya doesn’t sell individual items, but offers set courses. The cheapest of these is the Yakitori Short Course at ¥13,200, which includes six courses. One up from this is the Yakitori Standard Course at ¥16,500, consisting of nine courses.

Lastly, there is the Yakitori Special Course at ¥27,500, which has nine courses and includes special Italian Piedmont truffles.

Note: Drinks are not included in the set menu; they need to be ordered separately.

How to make a reservation at Yakitori Tsukiya

The easiest way to make a reservation in English is via Headout. We recommend booking a week or so in advance as Yakitori Tsukiya is a popular place, especially with tourists.

It is worth noting that it is only open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Headout offers free cancellation, with a full refund, up to 3 days before your reservation.

Food

As soon as you arrive, you can read through the English version of the set menu. On the day we visited, we had the nine-course set (with the Italian Piedmont truffles).

The dishes included:

• Chicken soup
• Pickles
• Kashiwa (chicken thigh yakitori)
• Maruhatsu (chicken heart yakitori)
• Sasami (chicken fillet yakitori)
• Sea urchin from Hokkaido, with Amagi wasabi from Shizuoka, wrapped in seaweed
• Chō-chin
• Bluefin tuna sashimi
• Chicken liver yakitori
• Shizuoka tomatoes
• Tsukune (chicken meatballs)
• Oyakodon (chicken and egg rice)
• All-you-can-eat yakitori
• Warabi mochi

Yakitori Tsukiya prides itself on using local, fresh, world-class produce. For instance, the pickles are from Ishikawa Prefecture, and the tomatoes from Shizuoka Prefecture. But it is actually the Date Hen Chicken (a special breed of chicken known for its rich flavor) that the restaurant is most famous for. 

While grilling the yakitori, the chef explains the different ingredients he uses to delicately flavor each skewer. One of these is Maldon Salt. As mentioned, the Yakitori Special Course includes Italian Piedmont truffles, which are considered the best in the world. These truffles are freshly grated onto the chō-chin yakitori, adding a slightly earthy taste.

Each piece of meat is perfectly char-grilled, tender, and has a sweet taste. Some, such as the maruhatsu, chō-chin and chicken liver, have a more distinctive chewy texture which less-adventurous customers may find more difficult to eat. This was certainly our experience.

The kashiwa, though, was a personal highlight, well seasoned with French salt. The meat is juicy and tender but crispy on the outside. The sweetcorn and pepper yakitori were another favorite, as they had a smoky but sweet taste.

Drinks

The drink options at Yakitori Tsukiya are quite extravagant. There is a range of high-end bottles of sake and wine, as well as beers and soft drinks. Traditionally, you pair yakitori with sake because of its strong umami flavor and bitterness.

If you are unsure what to get, we suggest asking the staff for recommendations. On our visit, we ordered umeshu (plum liquor) and peach umeshu; both were wonderfully sweet and chilled. Do remember that drinks are billed separately from the set meal, though.

Ambience

Dining at Yakitori Tsukiya feels like luxury dining without all the formalities. The inside décor blends contemporary with traditional esthetics. Across the walls are Japanese inks of dragons and flowers. The actual dining space is quite small, with a total of 14 seats in the whole restaurant. All of the seats are at the counter, which makes the overall experience feel more intimate.

Although the dining experience is limited to two hours, at no point are you rushed. There is more than enough time to properly savor each dish and relax. Each course is also bought out promptly. The chef is especially charismatic, having made time to check in with each one of his guests and explain the dishes in more detail.

Our review of Yakitori Tsukiya

Despite a few of the dishes not being to our personal taste, the attention to detail, freshness of the ingredients, and service, make this place worth visiting. Moreover, the course menu is excellent value for money, as it includes a good variety of yakitori, vegetable dishes, and a traditional Japanese dessert. Guests are even gifted some onigiri (rice balls) to take home with them.

The chef and staff play a large role in making this culinary experience an unforgettable one. Although they speak limited English, they are always there to assist. The chef even makes an effort to take a photo with each of his guests.

Yakitori Tsukiya is good for:

Yakitori Tsukiya is for those who want to enjoy top-quality yakitori and try some rarer cuts of meat. Ultimately, its course menu has been designed for adults who want to experience a laidback but luxurious dining experience in Ginza without paying a luxury price tag.

by Jane Pipkin